Shadows of Lives Once Lived
by Jeffrey Scott Holland - part 4

Roland looked down and started to tell the whole story. "Well, it's like this. That morning I was at school..."

Ray jumped in, "Exactly which morning was this?"

"Friday. I think it was the 17th."

Danny took notes in his little notepad that he had retrieved from his shirt pocket. Roland continued, "Anyway, I was at school, and at lunch I was sitting with a couple of guys who are usually pretty cool to me. Cindy walked by and said something, and I asked her if she wanted to sit with us. She said she would and went to get in line. I guess Cyrus and Joe were behind me and heard us talking or something, because they came over and told me to stop trying to get myself a white girl. I told them that Cindy was just my friend, but they just kept on. They said that I wasn't supposed to be friends with a white girl. They were always bullying me."

Ray asked, "Now who is this Cindy girl?"

Roland pointed out the window. "She lives down the street. Her last name is Fields."

Danny said, "I know Cindy. I went to high school with her mother. Cindy is a really nice girl."

Roland nodded, "Yeah, she is." He continued giving details of the account, "So that night I was walking to the dairy bar and, when I walked past her house, she saw me and wanted to go too. We sat out in front at the picnic table and ate. She went back home ahead of me because I was going to go by Doogan's and pick up some milk and bread for my mom."

He looked over to his stepparents who were sitting there giving him all of their attention. "I wanted to hurry because it was fixing to storm. While I was getting the milk, Joe and Cyrus pulled up and got some gas. When they came inside to pay, they kept staring at me. I got kinda scared, but I just tried to ignore them. They left. Then I paid and started back home. When I went around the side of the store, they jumped me. Cyrus grabbed me, and Joe tied my hands behind my back and put tape over my mouth. Then they threw me in the back of their truck."

Ray looked at Roland's parents. Mrs. Miller gripped Mr. Miller's arm as she listened to the details. Roland told them how Joe and Cyrus carried him out to the old abandoned house and tormented him.

Roland shook as he continued. "So they were both digging with their hands, and Joe started pulling out bones. I was going to sneak off but, when I saw it was bones they were digging up, I got so scared I couldn't move. I thought that they must've buried other people there. Anyway, that is when it came out of the woods and killed them."

Ray and Danny looked at each other and back to Roland. Ray asked, "What killed them?"

Roland tried to calm himself. "I don't know. It was just a shadow really."

Ray tried to clarify, "Was it because it was dark? I mean, you couldn't make out any features?"

Roland started to shake again, "No, I mean it was just a shadow. I could see through it. It didn't have features."

They all sat there in silence for a moment.

Danny looked doubtful, "What happened to the milk and bread?"

Ray gave Danny a look warning him not to press the kid too hard, as Roland went into detail again, "I don't know. I guess it was beside Doogan's where they jumped me. Everything happened so fast."

Ray was intrigued, "Tell us more about this shadow figure. How did it kill them? What shape did it have?"

Roland tried hard to recall, "I have been trying to forget it. It was shaped like a human, but it could stretch out of shape, like your shadow does when you are moving." He demonstrated what he meant by using the lamp next to the chair he was sitting in. "It came out of the woods and picked Joe up by the face and threw him across the yard into the side of the house. As soon as it let go of him, it reached out and grabbed Cyrus. He was making a run for the truck, and it just slammed him into the truck's fender really hard. They were both lying there. I was scared to move and just stood there really still. It picked them up one by one and crushed them as if it was wading up a piece of paper. I've never seen anything like it."

Roland was really trembling now, but Ray pressed him to go on anyway, "What happened then?"

Roland had tears in his eyes, "Well, that thing disappeared. It didn't go anywhere. It just vanished into thin air. I didn't know what to do. I was so scared, I was kinda wishing that it had killed me too. I have to admit I was glad that they were dead. I think I had every right to be."

Ray nodded, "If what you say is true, I have to agree."

Roland continued, "But I was scared I would get blamed for killing them. I was all confused and stuff. It was raining really hard, and I was all tied up and wet. I'm not even sure when it started raining. I think it was around the time the thing vanished. I got loose and decided to bury them so I wouldn't get in trouble. It took me a while, but it wasn't too hard since the ground was wet. Then I ran back home and tried to hide the shovel on the way. And that was pretty much it. I know I sound like I am crazy, but that's how it happened."

Ray and Danny looked at each other and rose from the couch. Ray said, "Thank you, Roland. You have really given us something to go on. I am wondering if you would mind coming down to the station in the morning and filing a report. And would you have any problem with taking a lie detector test?"

He shook his head, "I don't have anything to hide. But I'm afraid that it won't work right and everyone will think I'm lying."

Ray assured him, "They are very reliable. Don't worry."

Roland seemed to trust Ray, "Okay, I will then."

Mrs. Miller shook Ray's hand as she showed them out, "We'll be down there first thing in the morning."

Ray noticed that Mr. Miller was still sitting on the couch in a daze. "That'll be fine." He turned to Roland, "If you remember anything else, just let us know."

As Ray and Danny walked to the car, Danny inquired, "What do you make of all of that?"

Ray looked kind of unsure, "Well, I told him I would try to believe his story. We'll just have to see if it goes along with all of the evidence. Speaking of evidence..." He pointed to a pair of sneakers on the porch with dried mud covering them.

Danny went back to the house and told the Millers he wanted to take them for evidence. They agreed and he put them into a bag and took them with him.

The next day Ray was at the station looking over some pictures taken at the crime scene. It was Halloween and most of the deputies, along with everyone else in town, were busy preparing for the big, annual Halloween Festival.

Ray and Danny had been very busy all day, working on the case. Roland had come down to the station with his mother that morning. He passed the lie detector test with no problem.

Ray went around town and talked to people who could verify Roland's story. He talked to Mr. Doogan who claimed that Joe and Cyrus had been there that night the same time as Roland. Danny found an empty jug of milk next to the store. It was still sealed and appeared to have leaked out through a crack in the side. And there was also a loaf of moldy, wet bread.

They matched a set of the tracks at the crime scene to Roland's sneakers. After observing the crime scene further, they discovered a huge dent in the fender of Joe's truck. There were also some cracked boards on the side of the house about ten feet from the ground.